Hell Was Full, So I Came Back
by Outofthedeck
Summary: Jim Kirk hates diplomatic missions because they always seem to go wrong. And this time is no different. When a mysterious group of people responsible for recent kidnappings take one of the Enterprise's crew, the others will have to use classified files and some suppressed memories to bring him back home.
1. Chapter 1

The one thing Jim Kirk hated more than most of the admiralty is diplomatic missions. And the only reason for that is because the admiralty are the ones putting the Enterprise on those missions in the first place! There were the missions that were most likely to go wrong, but that was a given with all the enemies hell-bent on taking down the Federation.

And here they were. A familiar scene; the crew of the Enterprise, on their way to Yentyl III, a small, icy planet with an average temperature of 6℃, that has asked to join the Federation. The Yentylians are a joyful people, and they only hold negotiations once every year during a festival called the "Festival of Politics" (rough translation.) And the Federation has sent its prized flagship to Yentyl III to negotiate terms.

"Captain, we are nearing Yentyl III," the voice of Lieutenant Sulu jerked Kirk out of his thoughts. He stood, stretched, and finally gave some orders.

"Alright, standard orbit, Mr. Sulu," the lieutenant gave a quick 'yessir,' but not before Kirk was across the bridge at the science station. "Mr. Spock, have you got the away teams ready?" He asked as politely as he could muster. All diplomatic missions just put him on edge.

"Yes, captain. I have you, myself, Doctor McCoy, Security Officers Jo'tal and Hals, and Ensign Chekov, sir." Spock replied as he handed Kirk the PAD.

"May I ask why you put Ensign Chekov on the away team?" Kirk asked, surprised. The kid was a navigation officer, not really something they'd need on an away team.

"Ensign Chekov has requested to join this mission. He requires more experience, and this mission seemed adequate. He also requested on more...personal reasons." Jim understood what he meant when Spock said that. The kid's been homesick as of late, and this planet screams "Russia." So, Kirk doesn't blame Chekov for wanting to come, he just is worried about his safety.

"Is there no way to deny him his request?" Kirk asked tiredly.

"I see no logical reason as to why he shouldn't be allowed to join the away team."

Kirk sighed in defeat. "Alright."

Lieutenant Uhura spoke up from her station. "Sir, the Yentylians are hailing us." Kirk nodded and gave the word to put them on screen.

"Captain Kirk!" The Yentylians looked to be a blue skinned amphibious race, with a big, small, or no fin on their heads indicating which gender they are. They had large eyes and two holes on their face as a nose. The Yentylian on the viewscreen had a large fin and what could only be described as a large white beard.

"Grand President Zedk." Kirk replied respectively. The man was the one who turned the used to be savage race into the kind, technologically advanced one it is now. The Yentylians rewarded him by making him the leader of their world.

"Captain, are you ready to beam down? I have sent the coordinates to your ship, and we are more than ready to see you arrive."

Kirk looked over at Sulu for confirmation that they have the coordinates. "Yes sir, we have received the coordinates down to the main government building. Transporter room's ready."

"Thank you." Kirk looked back up at Zedk. "We will gather our away team and beam down in approximately 10 minutes."

Zedk smiled not unkindly. "We'll be happy to welcome you." The screen went dark and Kirk got a look at the planet for the first time. It looked like a snowball in space, about the size of Earth, but with much more snow. It was mesmerizing, and Kirk smiled at the little bit of hope that fluttered in his chest.

"Alright," he said with his usual charisma, "Spock and Chekov, you're with me. Tell Lieutenants Jo'tal and Hals and Doctor McCoy to meet us in the transporter room." He turned and headed for the turbolift with the other three members of the away team in tow and a smile on his face for the first time since the mission began.

After they all got on the transporter room, they were met with an angry Bones with three Starfleet-issued winter jackets. "Take them. Your immune system sucks, your green blood can't handle the cold and don't give me that Russian bullshit. You're taking the damn jacket." Chekov open his mouth to say something, but McCoy just shoved a jacket in his hands. He grudgingly put the jacket on, muttering something in Russian that no one understood. McCoy ignored him and turned to Jim who was getting on the transporter pad with "Jim, I don't understand why I have to come. It's too damn cold on that planet."

Jim just smiled and patted Bones shoulder when he got on the pad next to him. "C'mon Bones, I've heard that it's beautiful down there."

McCoy just sighed as Kirk gave the order to energize. As the transporter room faded to white, and the cold, beautiful city filled his vision, Jim felt even more confident in this mission. The smiling faces of the local population and a huge party out on the streets greeted the away team and a small group broke away from the celebration to lead them to the main government building.

"Zis is incredible!" Kirk looked to see Chekov almost bouncing out of his boots with excitement. He was looking around the city in awe, and Kirk remembered that this was only his second away mission. As he focused his attention to the many stairs leading up to the government building, he could've sworn he heard something about 'just like Moscow' behind him, followed by a groan and a chuckle from the two security officers. But they all quieted down once they reached the government building.

Zedk met them at the top of the many stairs leading up to the Hall of Peaceful Talks. "Welcome, Captain Kirk and friends, we hope you are happy to receive these gifts of peace." Six Yentylians, three on each side of Zedk, all with varying fins on their heads, came forward and gave each one of the away team a necklace. McCoy and the two security officers were hesitant to accept the gifts, but Kirk, Spock, and, surprisingly, Chekov all bowed their heads without hesitation and thanked the Yentylians. Jim held the little charm in his hand curiously. It was a small green rock, cut like two balls stacked on top of one another. He let the seemingly innocent necklace fall onto his chest and followed Zedk into the Hall of Peaceful Talks to start negotiating.


	2. Chapter 2

There were many things that the away team discovered about the Yentylian peace talks, but the one rule they hated the most was that once you're on the planet, you are not permitted to leave. All transportation ships are docked until it ends, beam-outs are not permitted unless it's an emergency, and all ships in orbit must stay in orbit. Communications are still in tact, but nothing could even be beamed down. That was a relief to both the away team and the Enterprise, because no one liked the idea of being trapped on any planet without contact with each other.

Another thing that seemed to get on everyone's nerves was that, because the Yentylians saw the crew of the Enterprise as a family (Kirk promised he'd stop telling aliens that _after last time_ ), the away team had to share a room to sleep in. And _someone_ (Jim) snores. But because Jim used to crash in his dorm, McCoy was the only one that seemed to be immune to it. That leaves the rest of them to struggle for any sleep.

The main problem is something that no one realizes until it's too late.

Now, Spock prides himself on many things (except of course he doesn't have pride since it's a human emotion), and one of those was that he never overslept. But, when Chekov woke him and the others up while frantically yelling about having thirty minutes before the meetings started, he realized what happened immediately and started his famous mental checklists to make sure everyone had everything. After everyone got dressed and fixed their hair, Spock saw the others head for the door to leave. He looked over to one of the tables and grabbed their peace necklaces and stopped them.

"Wait. We cannot go without our peace necklaces since it is against custom. Here," he handed everyone a necklace, but he didn't pay attention to whose was whose. That was an innocent enough fact that they would come to regret later.

* * *

Unlike the day before, only Jim and Lieutenant Hals had to go to the peace talks. Leonard was being shown the medical center, Spock was going to the labs, and Pavel was going to look at the Main Generator. But since Je'tal was the only other security officer, two of them to go alone. And since Spock could easily take care of himself, it boiled down to either McCoy or Chekov. But there was no way that Bones would allow the kid to go alone on his first away mission.

"Go with the kid, I'll be fine on my own." Bones tried to wave off both the lieutenant and the ensign.

"But sir-" They both started in unison, but McCoy gave them the look.

"I want to get outta the cold. Now you can freeze your asses off out here arguing, but I'm gonna get going." He turned and headed off with the dignitaries assigned to show him their version of a hospital. "Hopefully they'll have some sort of coffee there. I've never seen a hospital without some." He half-heartedly muttered to himself. As he looked back and saw Lieutenant Je'tal cross his arms angrily and Chekov went to talk to his delegates, he wondered how they're going to get through the day without making fools out of themselves.

After a short walk through the colorful, yet crowded streets of Yentyl, he arrived at the hospital with multiple leis and flower crowns as welcome gifts. The people of Yentyl (who were naked most often then not) love to give gifts to outsiders, and McCoy just so happens to be an outsider. Much to his chagrin, he wasn't permitted to take them off since that would be considered rood. So Bones just had to look at their technology and even some of their patients all the while trying to keep flower crowns and poofy leis at bay. He even tried to strategically knock the biggest flower crown off his head, only to have a nurse pick it up enthusiastically and place it on his head again.

But he did manage to get quite a bit of work done. "So, you're telling me that your brain is in your abdomen, and your heart is in your head?" He was used to alien biology, but this was a first. He added it to his notes on his pad. He didn't even know or care what time it was until growling stomach pulled him out of his work. The Yenylian doctors were surprised. They asked him all the questions they could about "the mysterious growling" before McCoy could get any word in.

"That just means I'm hungry!" The doctors stopped asking questions and stared at him for a few seconds. It was getting awkward. "So, could we get some food in town?" They seemed to be snapped out of their trance, and all looked at each other with a look Bones could only describe as worry. The head doctor spoke up first.

"I am sorry, Doctor McCoy, but no one is permitted to be out at this time."

McCoy's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Why?"

A series of screams and small explosions from outside answered his question for him.

* * *

Chekov never hated anyone. His papa taught him not to. But, he really really 'disliked' Lieutenant Je'Tal. He was arrogant, misinformed, and always making fun of Chakov for his accent and his speech disorder (his 'w's and 'v's).

And now they were stuck with each other on the planet, and the only reason they were teamed up with each other is because Dr. McCoy thinks of him as a kid.

And the entire way to the Generator on the other side of town, Je'Tal snickered whenever Chekov had to repeat himself because the Yentylian delegates didn't understand something. Plus, it was probably because Pavel was talking so fast, since he wanted to know as much as he can about the Generator before they got there. But it still made him feel a little self-conscious.

The Generator, he found out, was basically a huge warp engine that, instead of creating a warp field that moves a ship, creates enough energy to power an entire planet. The Yentylians told him how Zedk designed this with the best scientists at the time. When Chekov asked where the other scientists were, the Yentylians quickly told them that they died of old age. That was weird, since Zedk was the oldest of the group at the time, and it put Chekov on edge a little. Even Je'tal stood a little straighter when he heard their response. But the engineers ushered them on to the next part of the tour before either could ask any questions. They looked at each other and for the first time, it wasn't with hatred, but with concern.

The rest of the tour went fine, and the Yentylians even seemed to be getting used to the way Chekov speaks. When lunch rolled around, Je'tal asked if they could go have a bite in the city, but the Yentylians quickly shut that idea down. "I am sorry, but no one is allowed out at this time."

"Why's that?" Je'tal put a hand on his phaser holster out of habit. The Yentylians looked at each other nervously.

"The government demands so." The head engineer, Mefd, said. Her tone of voice just screamed that she was lying.

"No, you're lying. Vy can't ve leawe?" Chekov took a step back and stood next to Je'tal.

Mefd sighed in defeat. "Well, you see-" The rest of her statement was cut off with a nearby explosion shaking the building. Red alerts sounded and the little group of engineers broke off to do their assigned duties. But Mefd stayed with them. "Come! We must go to a safe place!" She yelled over the loud sirens. Chekov thought otherwise.

"No, ve must help zose people! Zey could be hurt!" He stared at her angrily, and she gave up. As Mefd ran to her sation, Chekov and Je'tal ran outside.

The usually cold air was hot from the fires around them. Some of the buildings around the Generator were rubble, and two others were on fire. Bleeding Yentylians covered in dust were running everywhere and it was only then did the two notice all the ships above the city. Unlike Yentyl spacecraft which were a pale silver, these were pure black and shooting at the city.

Je'tal and Chekov went to the nearest Yentylian, but before they could ask any questions, she started screaming at them "Take them off! Take them off, that iss how they track you! You must-" Her sentence was cut off by a muffled yell as another screaming Yentylian grabbed her and they both transported away. Chekov looked at Je'tal.

"Vat vas she talking about?" He asked. For once, Je'tal didn't poke fun at his thickening accent.

"I don't know," He said as he pulled his phaser out. "But these people need help. We-" Instead of finishing his sentence, he grabbed Chekov and threw him to the ground before firing a few shot from his phaser. The dirty snow got in Chekov's mouth and all he could taste was soot and alien blood. Dizzily, he looked up to see Je'tal be taken down by three masked aliens. He stood up to help him, but another masked alien came and knocked him to the floor. One of them put a knife to his throat to keep him down, and the big one, who Pavel assumed was the leader of the small group, walked over to Chekov. Since Pavel was disoriented from the fall, it didn't take much for two aliens to hold his arms back. The leader stood in front of him and picked up the peace necklace that fell off. He Placed it around Chekov's neck, then sqeezed it so the two balls become one. Chekov felt the familiar feeling of being transported, but not before he heard the leader say to a communicator.

"We got him."


	3. Chapter 3

Jim would be lying if he said he wasn't jealous. Spock, Bones, and Chekov all got to tour different parts of Haelyqon, the capital of Yentyl, while he was stuck here, arguing with aliens about- wait, what were they talking about again? He glanced over to Lieutenant Hals, who looked to be engrossed in what Zedk had to say, unlike Kirk.

"-also politely request protection-" Now this caught Jim's attention, which was hard to grab when he was as spaced out as he was. Next to him, Hals leaned forward, obviously intrigued.

"From what?" Jim could feel the discomfort coming off of the Yentylians sitting around the table in waves as he, accidentally, cut Zedk off mid-sentence. But Kirk had a feeling that it wasn't from his rude gesture.

"You see, Captain Kirk, we have been under attack for a while now," Jim sat up a little straighter, "and we don't know who they are or what they want. They just take my people, and we don't have enough of anything to fight back."

"When do these attacks occur?"

"Often, Captian. At least every sixty rotations. I have hope that it will not come when you and your crew are here. I could not bear to see one of them hurt."

' _Neither could I…'_ was all that Jim could think, but instead he decided to address a more immediate issue. "Why didn't you bring this to my attention earlier, so my crew could be prepared. Or better yet, we could have had the Enterprise at the ready."

"You see captain, I have been receiving threats and I have reason to belei-" He was cut off by the loudest sound Jim thinks he's has ever heard and was knocked to the ground by someone.

The last thing Kirk saw before blacking out was Zedk lying not far from him, not moving.

Ringing. His ears were ringing? Why? No, this wasn't right. He was...listening. To the delegates. Zedk was telling him something...about...attacks.

"-rk!" What was that?

"-tain!" Is that a voice?

"CAPTAIN!" All his senses seemed to be shocked awake from the yell of somebody. As his vision cleared, he saw the bloody face of Synk, Zedk's young assistant, stared down at him. Kirk sat up and ignored the pain in his head and chest. Jim looked at Synk and saw a scared child that reminded JIm of-

"Captain Kirk!" Another muffled voice that Jim recognised as Vice President Jyrk greatfully snapped him out of the beginnings of a flashback. When he looked over and saw Vice President Jyrk over President Zedk's body, he immediately tried to crawl over to them, only to fumble after a couple steps. Synk helped steady him despite their own injuries and the two of them shakily made their way over. But when Jim and Synk finally reach Zedk, he knew it was too late. The president of Yentyl was dead.

Nevertheless, he put a hand on the old man's chest and looked up to Jyrk, but the alien just shook his head.

Sighing in defeat, Kirk took this time to survey the damage. Everyone else was obviously dead including Lieutenant Hals. It was hard to make Jim sick to his stomach, but the sight of all the mangled bodies created from the initial blast made even his stomach churn. Behind him, he heard a muffled sob as Synk tried to quietly cry over the people they probably spent most of their life with. Jim put his arm around them and instantly felt protective over the kid.

Helping up Synk, he knew it would be useless to tell them to close their eyes since they already saw the extent of the damage. Next to him, stone-faced Jyrk put a hand on Jim's shoulder to steady himself. Some falling debris nearby and a shift in the rubble pulled the odd trio out of their shock-induced trance.

"Captain, the building is unstable. We must get out while we can." Jyrk stated. Jim just nodded despite the growing headache and regretted it immediately. He lead Synk out of the building, and with Jyrk in tow, they made their way out of the rubble.

All around them, the ruins of the building creaked and groaned. Kirk looked down at Synk, who was doing their best to stay calm, but the occasional wince broke through their mask. Jim stopped when Synk almost collapsed.

"Hey, what's wrong? Where does it hurt?" Kirk asked softly, trying to remember all the questions that Bones usually asks him, while making the kid sit down.

Synk puts a hand where the stomach would be on a human. Unsure of the physiology of the Yentylians, he asked Jyrk what could be the cause.

"Probably a concussion. Here," he put a hand on Jim's stomach area, "is where our brains are."

"Ok, good. Well, not good. But, I do know how to deal with a concussion, for the most part." Jim turns back to Synk, "We need to get you to the hospital-"

"No, that would be too much of a target," Jyrk interrupted, "if it has not been destroyed already." Jim felt his stomach do a flip over the thought of Bones dead. But he kept a level head for the kid currently sitting on a rock, possibly dying.

"Ok, how about my ship's med-bay? We just have to get out of this rubble and contact the ship. Then, we can beam up some doctors to help you." Synk just nodded tiredly. Knowing that they probably wouldn't be able to walk, Jim carefully picked them up and carried Synk until the three of them reached the outside.

But it wasn't any better there than in the building.

* * *

Spock was impressed by the Yentylian's advancements in science over the past few decades. The science buildings were the large, second only to the government building. The scientists, Spock also found out, are very dedicated to their work. Most of the scientists stayed in the lab even though it was a planet-wide holiday and the interns start at a very young age, the equivalent of 12 standard years. Melk, the head scientist, had his own assistant, Rynk. The curious Yentylian asked many countless questions, and while Spock tried to answer them, Melk just laughed.

"Rynk, if you keep this up, you'll run the man dry!" The large alien put a reassuring hand on Rynk's shoulder when the assistant looked down, obviously embarrassed.

"I do not mind him, doctor. In fact, it is good for him to be curious, seeing as though he has never met any of my species before." Rynk glanced up at him and gave a small smile.

"Well, are we going to see the labs?" Melk asked as he started walking to the Yentylian equivalent of a turbolift. "The labs here in Haelyqon are the best on the planet. We study every kind of science in the three buildings except astronomy, medicine, and geology. Our telescopes and geology labs are in the mountains north-east of here and the medical labs are in with the hospital." Melk explained as they made their way up to the labs. Each floor held a different kind of study, with the first being the physics labs, then chemistry, genealogy, biology, molecular biology, the technology departments, all the way up to the botany labs with the roof as well as the top floor.

And the Yentylian scientists were very passionate about what they do. On the technology floor, they passed a room with three engineers; one waving a pad around, one with their arms crossed, and one tearing their hair out, all while screaming at each other about the laws of physics and pointing to a diagram of an unknown ship.

The ship wasn't a Yentylian ship, nor one from any Federation planets. He was about to inquire about it when Rynk ushered him forward on the tour.

They were on the third floor when Spock heard the first explosion. It was far away enough that the Yentylians couldn't hear it, but close enough to put Spock on alert.

"What was that?" He asked the scientists. Rynk shrugged while Melk felt the need to scoff.

"What was what?" Spock almost got the time to answer when the west wing exploded and crumbled before their very eyes. The force of the blast had knocked Melk to the floor, but since Spock had anticipated this, he held on to Rynk so neither fell down. Luckily for them, they were far into the northern wing, but even the Yentylians could still hear the screams and see part of the building turn to dust and rubble. All the scientists in the building were either staring at what used to be the western wing or running for the end of the hallway.

"Oh dear…" Melk's statement was hardly heard over Rynk's hyperventilating.

Spock noticed and knelt down to be eye-to-eye with him to try his best at comfort. "Why are you hyperventilating? There is no reason to be afraid since the attackers have already targeted this building once. There is a 48.539% chance of this building being hit again." This just made the teen act up more, and Spock stood up straight to talk to Melk, who had finally gotten up. "We must vacate this building immediately." Spock chose to ignore the small 'Yeah, no kidding' and refocused onto what he was saying. "I presume that the nearest exit is at the end of the hall?"

"Yes, come, follow me and see if you can wake up Rynk from his little spell." Spock tried several times to shake Rynk out of his "spell" as Melk called it, but decided that his best option would be to just pick him up and carry him to wherever Melk was leading him.

After the three descended the stairs, Melk took a left into a door behind the steps and beckoned Spock before disappearing. Spock knows that it would be illogical to follow that man, but his curiosity lured him in and he followed Melk down one more flight of stairs.

He placed Rynk on the floor of the little room at the bottom of the stairs and stood up to face Melk. "Why did you bring me down here? Is this a safe-" His sentence was cut off by a strong left-hook to the jaw and he fell to the foul floor.

"You stupid Federation soldiers, always thinking it's about you. I wanted the runt not you." Spock noticed a change in his voice from the usual Yentylian demenor.

Weakly, he managed to sputter out,"Your voice, it is different." A strong, almost lethal kick to the abdomen stopped any more questions that Spock could conjure up.

"I may be Yentylian, but I am not of Yentyl. My name is Dyalloph, Mr. Spock. And I work for the _Malutha_." Spock saw Dyalloph give an anesthetic to Rynk and carry him upstairs before closing and locking the door, leaving Spock in an awkward state of conscious and unconscious.


End file.
